Candiace Dillard-Bassett wasn’t too thrilled when she learned Porsha Williams would be replacing Tinsley Mortimer on Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip season three.
Ahead of Thursday’s premiere of the Peacock series, which was based out of Thailand, the Real Housewives of Potomac star spoke of her long-running feud with the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum while also shading Gizelle Bryant and slamming Alexia Echevarria and Marysol Patton for speaking ill of Leah McSweeney, who she applauded as the MVP of RHUGT.
“Immediately it was like, ‘Oh gosh, Porsha and Candiace are gonna have beef,'” Candiace recalled during a March 22 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “And I was like, ‘I don’t want to have any beef with Porsha!'”
As fans may recall, Porsha spoke ill of Candiace following her season five encounter with Monique Samuels.
“I knew that would be a point of contention. So, that was kind of scary, but I was excited that Porsha was coming because she is great television,” Porsha noted.
In previews of RHUGT season three, Candiace targets Porsha by questioning her about her relationship with husband Simon Guobadia, who was previously married to her friend and former RHOA co-star Falynn Pina. However, as she explained, she actually enjoys Porsha, whose wedding she attended in November 2022.
“I always said, if I met Porsha, I think I would like her. She seems like my kind of girl. Like, a girly girl, like a fun girl. And then that stuff happened in season 5, and it kind of soured things, but we got to a decent place in Thailand,” she confirmed. “I got to know her.”
That said, Candiace didn’t exactly love that Porsha was so close to Gizelle, even though she didn’t know the extent of the claims Gizelle made against her husband, Chris Bassett, amid RHOP season seven.
“Thailand did not end well for Gizelle and I, at all,” Candiace revealed. “It really just cemented what I would learn later when I would watch Potomac, and when we did get to the reunion … She proved herself to be exactly who she is by the end of Girls Trip.”
In addition to her issues with Gizelle, Candiace also isn’t in a good place with Robyn Dixon. In fact, while she’s reached out to her RHOP castmate, whose been under fire for keeping Juan Dixon‘s communication with another woman under wraps amid season seven, Robyn hasn’t responded.
“I can be disappointed in her and also empathize with where she is, and that’s where I am, but she’s slowly showing me where we are in our friendship, and I know how to take a hint — and once I take the hint, I’m quiet,” she noted.
As for the recent news of Juan losing his job as a basketball coach at Coppin State University, which came amid accusations of failing to properly handle sexual misconduct claims, Candiace said she is “really sad” for the family.
“Maybe she knew it was going to go that way, and he was ultimately going to lose his job, but she presented it to us in a much different way. So, for me, I was very stunned, and for her children, very hurt, and I do still wish them well and I pray this is does not have long-lasting effects on his career and on their reputation, because it’s intense,” Candiace stated.
As RHOP fans may have heard, Gizelle recently said she didn’t mention Juan’s missteps on RHOP because she “forgot” it happened.
“It’s just, as an audience member, I would be insulted,” Candiace said in response.
Looking back at her time on RHUGT, Candiace said Gizelle was her biggest “disappointment” while Leah was the MVP.
“I’m going to give it to Leah, because homegirl — for me, my worst nightmare is having to go and be admitted to a hospital,” she explained, giving a nod to a health crisis Leah went through in Thailand. “To be 12,000 hours from home and be admitted to the hospital and still want to leave and come back and be a part of the trip? Leah, she won.”
Candiace was a big fan of Leah and didn’t like hearing that Alexia, Marysol, and Gizelle said they don’t want to travel with her again.
“How horrible!” Candiace replied. “Y’all are some haters! That is so nasty. Leah is a fun girl. They were just– so, Gizelle was bullying her the whole time, Porsha was helping. Alexia and Marysol, like, y’all shut up. They’re just hating. They don’t mean it, ask them again.”
Also during the interview, Candiace admitted to feeling “shame” and “embarrassment” after she and her RHUGT castmates were called out by their host.
“I wanted to hide my face, because here is a kind, sweet man, we are running him up in his house and he is reading us for filth!” she shared. “Yeah… we were all really embarrassed. Yeah, we were losing it, we were– it was nice that someone called it out and could see it for what it was and was affected by it. He was really emotional, and it made us sit back and go, ‘Wow, we should maybe shut up…'”
